Student occupiers greet their friends after being released from Wheeler Hall.

All 40 occupiers were released from Wheeler Hall a little after 9 p.m. to cheers and applause from the crowd which surrounded the building.

As the first three students left, escorted by police, the crowd clapped and shouted out their names.

Fred, the father of one of the student occupiers who didn't want to give his last name because he feared retribution for his daughter, praised the protesters.

"My daughter is still in the building and I am very proud of her," he said. "I am very proud of all of you."

Fred told the Daily Planet that his daughter had called him in the middle of the night and told him that "they were occupying the building."

"I said 'good luck and be as safe as possible," he said. "And I told her I will be here."

He said he had been waiting outside Wheeler all day long, worrying "how the police will treat her."

"She gave me updates until her cell phone ran out of batteries," he said. "She sounded anxious but very energized."

As more students came out, their friends hugged and kissed them, patting them on the back.

"It's so good to be back with all of you," one girl said. "We were cited for trespassing and released ... That's all."

The group requested media cameramen to respect their privacy, and invited everyone to a later meeting in front of Dwinelle Hall.

UC Berkeley Political Science senior Adam Astan,who was in the crowd outside the hall, recounted how Alameda County police had hit him with a baton. He said he had also been shot with a rubber bullet, pulling up his t-shirt to show his injuries.

"I was crying out 'peace, peace' and they suddenly hit me," Astan said.

He said he had seen one of the police batons fly out and hit a girl on the face. Another girl who showed up at the meeting later underwent reconstructive surgery after having her finger smashed by a stray baton.

As the occupiers huddled under a tree outside Wheeler around 9 p.m, they thanked the crowd.

"What we did in there doesn't compare to what you did out here," said one of the occupiers, who wouldn't give their names to the press,as the crowd roared. "What you did out here blew what we did away. Whatever you did today, don't stop doing it. It got people out of this building."

Some of the girls said they had been very scared all along since they didn't know what to expect.

"We know about the sacrifices you made, we know you put your bodies on the line," one of them said. "We need to keep going."

Students at UC Davis reportedly have also occupied a building. UCLA still has a building occupied.

The students decided to hold a meeting Saturday at 5 p.m. to decide the next steps in the protest. They will also discuss the felony charges filed against the three occupiers this morning. The hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. Monday at the Alameda County Superior Court in Oakland.